Environmental indicators on selected issues for Latin America and the Caribbean

World Resources Institute (WRI)
IDB

2002

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As they enter the 21st century, the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean face the challenge of reducing poverty while simultaneously addressing problems of environmental degradation amid continued increases in population. To help meet this challenge, the Inter-American Development Bank has established important environmental initiatives. One such initiative, the Regional Policy Dialogue, incorporates the environment among the main areas for focussed policy discussions and strategic thinking in the Bank. This report represents a selection and analysis of key indicators that bear upon the particular set of issues that the IDB borrowing member countries are facing at this point. Some of the indicators presented in this report document the main pressures caused by economic development on the environment, specifically related to growth (population growth and urbanization), production patterns of key economic sectors (agriculture, energy, mining, and marine and coastal activities), and human resources and welfare (income, education, poverty and health). Other indicators in this report address issues related to the state of the environment, looking at the natural resource base, management pattern and environmental quality of the region (water availability and use, biodiversity, deforestation, natural disasters and climate change). The selection of these indicators is based on availability, timeliness, and relevance of the data. The timeline for the data presented in this report varies according to the issues addressed, generally covering the 1960-2000 period for historic data and the 2001-2030 period for projections of environmental trends. This report should contribute to the discussion on how to build and maintain a complete set of appropriate environmental indicators for Latin America and the Caribbean. But above all, the report was prepared to help spur the development and use of timely and accurate indicators for policy-making and implementation in the region. [Extracto: Introduction]

América Latina y el Caribe; Indicadores; Indicadores ambientales; Medio Ambiente;